Antonio Rudiger has reacted after his Real Madrid were drawn against his former employers Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals at the Friday’s draw held in Nyon. Rudiger is looking forward to facing his former club in the Champions League for the first time since leaving them last summer.
The 30-year-old arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer after his contract with the Blues expired despite a successful five-year stint in west London. Rudiger has been a mainstay in the Los Blancos lineup since his arrival, appearing in 37 games across all competitions.
Rudiger relishing ‘special’ Chelsea tie with Real Madrid
Despite trailing La Liga leaders Barcelona by nine points, Rudiger’s Real Madrid have been outstanding in the Champions League, losing only once to RB Leipzig during the group stage. However, they still finished first in their group, ahead of the Germans, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Celtic, with 13 points from a possible 18.
Real Madrid’s reward for easily defeating Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate in the last-16 is a quarter-final match against Chelsea next month. Carlo Ancelotti’s team thrashed the Reds 5-2 in the first leg at Anfield before winning 1-0 in Spain earlier this week. Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz scored to help the Blues beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on aggregate to set up a quarterfinal clash with Real.
Rudiger, meanwhile, reacted to the draw on social media and is excited to face his former employers for the first time. “This will be very special – Can’t wait to see so many friends again,” he tweeted on Friday. While some Chelsea fans reacted positively to Rudiger’s post, some, however, reminded the defender that they will be as eager as ever to defeat his team in the last eight.
Rudiger isn’t the only ex-Chelsea player who now plays for Real Madrid, with Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard joining in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic will face his former team again, after facing Real Madrid the previous two seasons. Rudiger spent five years at Chelsea, making 203 appearances, 133 of which were in the Premier League, and winning five titles, cementing his place as a club legend.
The European titans have been pitted against each other in the competition for the third year in a row. They first met in the 2020-21 season’s semi-finals, where Chelsea won 3-1 on aggregate enroute to winning the competition. The following year, Real Madrid avenged themselves by eliminating the holders in the quarterfinals, winning 5-4 on aggregate. Rudiger started all four games against the Blues, scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu last season.
Chelsea have four crucial league fixtures before their trip to Madrid for the first leg on 11 April, with Everton, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Wolves as they look to close the gap on the Champions League places. They currently trail fourth-place Tottenham by 11 points in the table. Real Madrid too face Barcelona twice, Real Valladolid and Villarreal before coming up against the Blues.